International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD)
Volume 3 Issue 5, August 2019 Available Online: www.ijtsrd.com e-ISSN: 2456 – 6470
Effect of Ytterbium Substitution on the Structural and
Magnetic Properties of Nanocrystalline Zinc Ferrite
Zar Zar Myint Aung
Department of Physics, Lashio University, Lashio, Myanmar
How to cite this paper: Zar Zar Myint
Aung "Effect of Ytterbium Substitution on
the Structural and Magnetic Properties of
Nanocrystalline Zinc Ferrite" Published in
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(ijtsrd), ISSN: 24566470, Volume-3 |
Issue-5,
August
IJTSRD27826
2019, pp.1780-1784,
https://doi.org/10.31142/ijtsrd27826
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ABSTRACT
A series of ytterbium substituted Zinc ferrites Zn (YbxFe1-x)2O4 with
(x=0.0000, 0.0125, 0.0250, 0.0375, 0.0500) was synthesized by the solid state
method. The structural characterizations of all the prepared samples were
done by using X-ray diffraction (XRD). These studies confirmed the formation
of single-phase structure in all compositions. The increase in the value of
lattice parameter with increase in ytterbium concentration suggests the
expansion of unit cell. Crystallinity and the crystallite size are observed to
increase with the concentration of Ytterbium. The substitution of ytterbium
strongly influences the magnetic characteristics and this is confirmed from the
magnetization measurements at room temperature.
KEYWORDS: ytterbium, XRD, FTIR, magnetic property
I.
INTRODUCTION
This paper deals with the preparation conditions, composition Ranges,
structure, morphological characteristics, and magnetic properties of solid
solutions based on rare-earth-doped.ZnFe2O4 zinc ferrite with the spinel
structure. This ferrite is used as a material for electromagnetic radiation
absorption and should have high resistivity, low dielectric losses, high hardness,
high Curie temperature, and good chemical stability. There are a variety of
approaches, including compositional changes, for improving the performance of
microwave-absorbing zinc ferrite-based coatings in order to reduce their
reflectivity for electromagnetic waves either in a wide frequency range or near
one frequency of interest.
In recent years, partial rare earth substitution for iron has
been widely used to modify the composition of spinel
ferrites. Analysis of published data indicates that the
addition of even small amounts of rare-earth metals to
ferrites changes their magnetic, electrical, and structural
properties. The addition of Dy3+ cations to a Ni–Cu–Zn ferrite
improves the magnetic properties of the material. According
to Sattaret al. [6], Yb3+ cations increase the magnetic
permeability of a Cu–Zn ferrite, whereas La3+ cations were
reported to reduce the magnetization and coercive force of a
Zn–Cu–Ni ferrite and raise the activation energy for
conduction in this material. The enhancement of the
magnetic and electrical properties of the spinel ferrites is
commonly interpreted in terms of the magnetocrystalline
anisotropy of the rare-earth elements and the exchange
interaction between the Fe3+ and Ln3+ cations. At the same
time, attention should be paid to the fact that the reported
composition ranges of the forming solid solutions differ
significantly.
Rare earth doped Zinc ferrites were prepared Zn(YbxFe1x)2O4 with (x=0.0000, 0.0125, 0.0250, 0.0375 and 0.0500) by
the solid state method at 900°C to be single-phase. The cubic
cell parameter a of the spinel phase was shown to increase
linearly from 8.47 Å to 8.55 Å. However, the a cell parameter
of the samples was found to increase over the entire
composition range studied (x=0.0000, 0.0125, 0.0250,
0.0375 and 0.0500). Note that, In the presence of impurity
phases, the rate of the increase in the a cell parameter of the
cubic spinel phase was slower. The formation of a limited
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solid solution series was also reported for YbZnFe2O4
ferrites. The x=0.0000, 0.0125, 0.0250, 0.0375 and 0.0500
material synthesized at 900°C was reported to be singlephase, whereas the materials of this composition prepared at
1100°C, and 1200°C contained ytterbium ferrite, YbFeO3.
These findings are consistent synthesis, structure, and
magnetic properties with reported results for YbZnFe2O4
ferrites, which demonstrate that the maximum degree of
rare-earth substitution for Fe is x = 0.0500. In this paper, we
report the preparation of zinc ferrites with the general
formula Zn (YbxFe1-x)2O4 (x = 0.0000, 0.0125, 0.0250, 0.0375
and 0.0500), doped with light and heavy lanthanides (Nd, Gd,
Yb, and Lu).
The ferrites were obtained by two processes: selfpropagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) and thermal
decomposition of carboxylates (salts of carboxylic acids). We
determined the phase boundaries of the corresponding solid
solution series and investigated the crystal structure,
microstructure, and magnetic properties of ceramic samples.
II.
EXPERIMENTAL PRODUCTURE
The solid state method relies on the heat treatment of a
compacted mixture of iron, zinc, and rare-earth nitrates. As
starting chemicals for the preparation of mixtures, we used
ZnO (analytical grade), Fe (metal), Yb2O3 (Yb = Nd, Gd, Ln,
Lu; 99.98%). An appropriate mixture of the starting
chemicals was loaded into an Agate mortar and ground for 5
hours. After mixing and grinding, the mixture has been pre
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sintered at 900°C for 5 hours in a furnace with heating rate
of 20°C/min and cooled to room temperature with the same
rate. After that, the powder and the mixture has been ground
with an Agate mortar for 1 hour. Then, the powder has been
pressed into pellets and toriods by uniaxial hydraulic press
at a pressure of 5 tons.
The sintering temperature should start from 1000°C and
1100°C which is 100 °C higher than the pre-sintering
temperature. This condition is required for densification of
ferrite in standard solid state methods. Therefore, the final
heat treatment step was carried out at temperatures from
1000°C to 1100°C with time duration for 5 hours to densify
ZnFe2O4 and Yb doped ZnFe2O4 magnetic ferrite by standard
solid state method. The phase composition of the samples
thus prepared was determined by X-ray diffraction
(Shimadzu XRD-7000S diffractometer, CuKα radiation) and
by analyzing energy dispersive X-ray spectra obtained on a
JEOL JSM-5900L scanning electron microscope using an EDX
detector. Lattice parameters were refined with FullProf2010 software. The magnetic properties of the ytterbium
doped zinc ferrite samples were studied in static magnetic
fields of up to 30 kOe (2.4 MA/m) using a soft magnetic
Hysteresis Graphs Meter (DX-2012SD).
III.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
X-ray diffraction characterization showed that, independent
of the synthesis process, the major synthesis product was a
Zn (YbxFe1-x)2O4 solid solution with a cubic spinel structure.
In all instances, a single-phase material was only obtained at
the rare earth content (x= 0.0125, 0.0250, 0.0375, 0.0500) in
Figure1.Table 1 summarizes the structural characteristics of
the solid solutions obtained. It follows from these data that
the cubic cell parameter a of the rare earth- doped ferrites
varies in a complex manner. The a cell parameter first
increases and then, as a rule, decreases.
A. Magnetic Hystersis Loop Analysis
The magnetic hystersis loops at room temperature were
recorded by Magnetometer (DX-2012SD). The hysteresis
loop data of Zn (YbxFe1-x)2O4 (x = 0.0000, 0.0125, 0.0250,
0.0375 and 0.0500) are shown in Table 2 and Table 3. It is
clear that by applying magnetic field of 10,000 Oe at room
temperature, the saturation magnetization can be achieved
for these samples. The value of Ms is found to be decreased
as the amount of doping ions increased. It has been reported
extensively that the smaller size particles exhibit the low
value of saturation magnetization, which is due to their
modified cationic distribution and surface disorder .
According to the references, the magnetic moment of Zn2+ is
0.3 µB, that of Yb2+ is 0.85 µB and that of Fe2+ is 4.9 µB-6.7 µB.
Therefore, the value of Ms decreased as the amount of Yb
doping ions with smaller magnetic moment was increased.
According to brown’s relation, the coercivity and saturation
magnetization are given by the relation [3].
𝐾
𝐻 =
µ 𝑀
In equation, the K1 is magneto-crystalline anisotropy, μ₀ is
vacuum permeability, Ms is saturation magnetization and Hc
is coercivity. It has been observed that Hc and Ms of the
prepared materials are inversely related by increasing
substitution level and are in agreement with equation [3] .The
value of Hc increased with the enhancement of doping ions of
Yb+3. The low values of coercivity depicted the soft character
of these materials which can be considered better candidate
for switching, sensing and security applications. These low
Hc values are necessary for electromagnetic (EM) materials.
From the hysteresis loop, a number of primary magnetic
properties of a ferrite material can be determined.
Table1 Crystallite size of the ZnYbFe2O4 samples at
different temperatures
As seen in XRD spectra cubic spinel structure of zinc ferrite
was found to be stable at final sintering temperature. The
lattice constant and crystallite size of Zn(YbxFe1-x)2O4
calculated data are shown in Table 1. The lattice parameter
obtained for pure zinc ferrite is in good agreement with the
reported value.
Sample (x)
The diffraction peaks corresponding to (2 2 0), (3 1 1), (4 0
0), (4 2 2), (5 1 1) and (4 4 0) reflection planes and the
absence of any extra peak show that all the samples have
attained single phase cubic structure. This implies that the
Yb3+ ions have been completely dissolved into the spinel
lattice of zinc ferrite.
x = 0.0000
44.02
8.47
42.46
8.47
x = 0.0125
36.78
8.47
43.80
8.50
x= 0.0250
44.29
8.47
44.76
8.49
x = 0.0375
41.18
8.48
47.30
8.49
x = 0.0500
49.91
8.49
51.77
8.55
The lattice constant of ytterbium-substituted zinc ferrite is
observed to be larger than that of zinc ferrite. An increase in
lattice constant with increase in Yb3+ ion content is expected
because of the large ionic radius of Yb3+ ( 0.858 Å) compare
to that of Fe3+(0.67 Å).
The ytterbium substitution zinc ferrite changes in the lattice
constant and this may probably be the reason for the
observed shift of XRD peaks with ytterbium substitution. The
theoretical (X-ray) density of zinc ferrite is in agreement
with that of the zinc ferrite because it increases with
increase in ytterbium concentration.
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Temperature
1000( ºC)
Crystallite
size (nm)
Lattice
Constant
Temperature
1100( ºC)
Crystallite
size (nm
(Å)
Lattice
Constant
(Å)
Table2 Magnetic hysteresis loop data for
Zn(YbxFe1x)2O4 at 1000 ̊C
Composition of
Ms
Hc
nB
rare earth ions(x) (emu/g)
(Oe)
(µB)
0.0000
94.20
92.84 3.51
0.0125
76.5
119.26 2.83
0.0250
69.47
130.57 2.68
0.0375
67.47
143.77 2.61
0.0500
61.99
155.04 2.57
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Table3 Magnetic hysteresis loop data
Zn(YbxFe1-x)2O4 at 1100 ̊C
Composition of
Ms
Hc
nB
rare earth ions(x) (emu/g)
(Oe)
(µB)
0.0000
94.20
92.84 3.51
0.0125
76.5
119.26 2.83
0.0250
69.47
130.57 2.68
0.0375
67.47
143.77 2.61
0.0500
61.99
155.04 2.57
Figure1
1 XRD pattern of the ZnYbFe2O4 samples at different temperatures
Ms Vs Yb content
Saturation
Magnetization(emu/g)
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0
0.0125 0.025 0.0375
0.05
0.0625
Yb Content (x)
Coercivity(Oe)
Figure2
2 Variation of Saturation magnetization with different Yb Content (x) in Zn (YbxFe1-x)2O4 at 1000°C
Hc Vs Yb Content
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0
0.0125 0.025 0.0375
0.05
0.0625
Yb Contant (x)
Figure3 Variation of Coercivity with different Yb Content (x) in Zn (YbxFe1x)2O4 at 1000°C
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Ms Vs Yb content
Saturation
Magnetization(emu/g)
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
0.0125
0.025
0.0375
0.05
0.0625
Yb Content (x)
Figure4 Variation of Saturation magnetization with different Yb Content (x) in Zn (YbxFe1-x) 2O4 at 1100°C
Hc Vs Yb Content
Coercivity(Oe)
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
0.0125
0.025
0.0375
0.05
0.0625
Yb Contant (x)
Figure5 Variation of Coercivity with different Yb Content (x) in Zn (YbxFe1-x)2O4 at 1100°C
Conclusion
In this experiment of ytterbium doped on the zinc ferrite Zn
(YbxFe1-x)2O4 with x=0.0000, 0.0125, 0.0250, 0.0375 and
0.0500 were synthesized by using solid state method. XRD
analysis confirmed the formation of single phase structure,
without any secondary phase in all the compositions. The
substitution of ytterbium in zinc ferrite has resulted in an
increase in lattice constant. Moreover, it was observed that
coercivity Hc increased by increasing doping contents of Yb3+
ions. It might be due to the effect of denser microstructure
with Yb3+ ions substitution in spinel lattice. This is proved
that the substitution of small amount of ytterbium rare earth
(RE) ions in ferrite can also tune the magnetic properties.
Acknowledgement
I am greatly indebted to Rector Dr Kyaw Tun, Lashio
University, for his kind permission to this paper. We also
thank Professor Dr Ko Ko Naing, Head of Department of
Physics, Lashio University for kindly giving the
encouragements. Our profound gratitude also goes to Dr Aye
Aye Thant, Professor, University of Yangon, for her
suggestions and comments.
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